Was this the season’s first Deckchair Derby?
Two teams with little left to play for served up a forgettable match at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, although Michael Carrick bristled at the suggestion that his Manchester United side were ‘on the beach’.
There was no record-levelling assist for Bruno Fernandes (£10.4m), and no appearance at all for the in-form Casemiro (£5.9m), bought by over 100,000 managers in the run-up to Gameweek 36.
CASEMIRO + SESKO INJURY LATEST
United were missing three players in total on Saturday, with Manuel Ugarte (£4.7m) absent with a back problem and Benjamin Sesko (£7.3m) still plagued by shin issues.
But it’s Casemiro’s fitness that most FPL managers will care about. Gameweek 37 is his farewell at Old Trafford, and he’s on a run of just one blank in nine matches (if we count DefCon as a ‘return’).
It sounds positive regarding his availability.
“Ben’s been carrying a shin problem for some time and he took quite a big bang on it, obviously had to come off last week. So, he wasn’t ready today.
“Case, he’ll be fine for next week, it’s nothing major. Manu had a problem with his back in training, so that’s the issues ironed out.” – Michael Carrick to MUTV
“I just said to the boys, Case will be fine next week, it’s not a big issue. Ben, I just have to say, he’s been carrying the problem [for] a little bit of time now [so we have] just got to manage that and see what is the best for him.” – Michael Carrick in his post-match presser
UNITED NOT ‘ON THE BEACH’!
United waited until the 95th minute to have their first shot on target. Sunderland were the likeliest team to score until that point, with the Red Devils pretty limp.
With Champions League football secured, was this United donning their sandals and Speedos? Don’t ask Carrick that.
“I honestly get offended by that, when people are accusing you of that. The way the players have prepared for the game and the way they left the changing room, we faced a tough game. It’s fine. If we weren’t in a good head space and motivated, I think we lose the game today. Sunderland played really well at certain points of the game and made us work for it.” – Michael Carrick on whether his team were ‘on the beach’
SECOND STRING FAIL TO TAKE CHANCES
The ‘on the beach’ tag is an easy one to confer at this time of year. But what is true is that, when a team has little tangible to play for in the run-in, the starting XIs can be harder to second-guess.
That was the case on Saturday, as Carrick handed chances to the likes of Mason Mount (£5.9m), Joshua Zirkzee (£5.8m) and Noussair Mazraoui (£4.9m). Bryan Mbuemo (£8.3m) was among those benched.
It’s this that is more of a problem for FPL managers than ‘motivation’. Not only does the rotation risk increase, but the collective team displays can suffer thanks to peripheral squad members lacking the match rhythm of others. Zirkzee was a prime example of this.
Fernandes did create chances – four of them, including one in which Amad Diallo (£6.2m) curled narrowly wide – but ended with his third-lowest xGI figure of the season. He looked frustrated with his teammates at times. United also sorely missed the midfield presence of Casemiro.
“There were obviously changes, sometimes we were trying to find our rhythm a little bit. I still quite liked a lot of the things that give us a foundation to play better at certain times. To take a point and a clean sheet is okay.” – Michael Carrick
“I understand it’s not easy for any player who hasn’t played for a little bit to come into a game. We’re not judging any individual on one performance today anyway.” – Michael Carrock
LAMMENS EXCELLENT AS SUNDERLAND GO BACK TO BASICS
Is Senne Lammens (£5.1m) the goalkeeper of the season? David Raya (£6.1m) might have something to say about that but then Lammens doesn’t have as good a defence in front of him.
Lammens made some more smart saves on Saturday, keeping out Noah Sadiki (£4.9m) and Brian Brobbey (£5.3m). He’s not the greatest with his feet but there are few shotstoppers as reliable with their hands.
A word on Sunderland, who have looked back to their solid self since their 5-0 thumping by Nottingham Forest. That’s now 11 clean sheets for the season for the Mackems, which is a great return for a newly promoted club.
Regis Le Bris talked of going back to basics after the match.
“We are back to our foundations, I think. In the Premier League, it’s not unusual to fail. Chelsea lost four, five, six games in a row. They are a good team with great players. Our first year in the Premier League, after eight seasons, struggling at times, I think it’s normal, but the most important thing is the way you react. So, what you can learn from the tough experience? I think we didn’t find the right balance against Forest. We were brave with the ball, but turned the ball over too many times. Then, conceded transition, set-pieces, and it’s not possible in this league.
“So, it helped because the analysis was strong and difficult, but you need to experience difficult situations to go forward, and it was the case. So, today we had a good balance between the good protection on one side, very well organised, good pressing, man-for-man, deep block. I think we conceded only one shot on target.” – Regis Le Bris
Enzo Le Fee (£4.8m) caught the eye in the ‘hole’. He looks more threatening centrally than when he’s fielded.
He had three shots and created four chances, topping the pile for xGI in this match:
